Series V. Writing drafts

Date:

1937-1969?, n.d.

Extent:

3.75 linear feet

Scope and Content Note

This series contains documentation of Daniel Williams's unpublished biography of George Gray Barnard. Between 1937 and his death in 1969, Williams produced dozens of copies and versions of his manuscript, some of the more complete versions numbering as many as 1302 typed pages. Williams presents an aggrandized version of Barnard's life through memoir and personal experience. The manuscript includes many anecdotes and excerpts from personal correspondence. Despite repeated efforts by Williams and later, his daughter, the biography was rejected by various publishing companies and never made it to press.

There are few clues alluding to the date or order in which versions were produced. No complete draft has survived intact. The versions contained here were pieced together during archival processing based on common page numbering schemes, paper types, and handwriting. Nearly all of the versions have been corrected, annotated, edited, and/or renumbered by Williams. Of significance are versions annotated and initialed by George Grey Barnard or his son Monroe.

Arrangement

This series has been divided into two subseries. The first is entitled "Versions annotated by Barnard Family." The second subseries, "Other versions," contains multiple drafts of the typescript and many fragments annotated by Daniel Williams.